"Corcovado" (known in English as "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars") is a bossa nova song and jazz standard written by AntĂŽnio Carlos Jobim in 1960. English lyrics were later written by Gene Lees.
âCorcovado,â which translates as âhunchback,â is the name of the mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro, a 700-meter peak capped by an almost 40-meter statue of Jesus Christ a symbol of the city. But when Gene Lees wrote English lyrics to Jobimâs song, he decided that hit songs need something other than a mountain, hunchback, or Jesus Christ in the title, and renamed âCorcovadoâ as âQuiet Nights of Quiet Stars,â often shortened to âQuiet Nights.â (Gioia, Ted. The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire (Page 72). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition).
Notable recordings:
JoĂŁo Gilberto, from The Legendary JoĂŁo Gilberto , 1960
Miles Davis (with Gil Evans), from Quiet Nights , 1962
Cannonball Adderley (with SĂ©rgio Mendes), from Cannonballâs Bossa Nova , 1962
Stan Getz (with JoĂŁo Gilberto), from Getz/Gilberto , 1963
Frank Sinatra and AntĂŽnio Carlos Jobim â Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim. 1967
Elis Regina and Antonio Carlos Jobim, from Elis & Tom , 1974
















